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Grad Studies & Research

Queen's is a place where graduate students learn and discover in a close-knit intellectual community. You can share experiences with the world’s best scholars, whether it’s on a campus park bench at Professor’s Walk, at the laboratory or in a coffee house. You have more than 100 graduate programs within 50+ departments & research centres to choose from. With the world at your fingertips, excellent funding options and life in the affordable, historic waterfront city of Kingston, Queen's has a great deal to offer. Graduate students come to Queen's to put their ideas in motion, change their lives and the world.

Words of Wisdom from current Masters and PhD students

How will it help my career?

One of our alumni saw a $28,000 pay increase once they completed their MA.

Practical skills.

Lots of networking opportunities with alumni and industry.

Publicity of research projects looks good on resume. Analytical thinking is transferable to many jobs.

References from supervisors to key employers.

Let's you specialize and become known within a specific field as an expert.

Tips for Applying

Queen's Career Services has helpful workshops.

Use career counselors to review your personal statement.

Establish good relationships with potential supervisors.

Talk to current grad students.

Use current grad students to help determine who a good supervisor would be.

How does it differ from undergrad?

Less lecture time (substantially).

Much more hands on experience.

Topics are more interesting since they are targeted to your specific areas of interests.

Is there funding?

Yes - for all disciplines.

Internal and External.

Scholarships and research grants.

Work study or TA opportunities.

Grad chairs will help you apply and understand what you could be eligible for.

Do I have to stay in the same department as my undergrad?

Generally no. It will help to have a strong understanding of the discipline to be successful.

Industrial Relations, Computing, Economics, Physics, Chemistry all are open to cross-disciplinary applicants (as are many others that didn't comment on this question at the event).

Prerequisites may exist but not for all.

Should I stay or should I go?

Stay. It's a lot of work to move away for only a year or two.

Go where you are happiest, but if you are happy here - then stay here.

Choose the project / supervisor that you can see working with and go wherever they are - which may be here since you already know the profs you like.

Staying helps to minimize uncertainty.

If you stay, it will be financially cheaper based on living costs.

Leaving may open up new networks but not guaranteed to do so.

Tips for Finding a Supervisor

You don't need to before you apply, but can be helpful. Especially for the MA level.

Find an interesting topic and then email the prof that oversees that area.

Approach any prof that you have a good working relationship with and if they won't do they could be a good person to help you find the right person.

Contact the Grad Chair in your department of interest and they will help you find a suitable supervisor.

If we polled 1,000 students in Grad School and asked them why they choose to pursue graduate studies they would probably all have something different to say. The choice is very personal, probably more personal than the decision to get an undergraduate degree. But we have noticed a trend of five main reasons that our students choose to continue their studies.

Hands-on learning with world-renowned researchers such as Nobel Prize winner Dr. Art MacDonald. Sounds too good to be true? How about a retreat centre where students gather to write and stay on track during their projects; or global exchange opportunities with institutions such as Stuggart in Germany? What about A tried and true education that has been around with a track record for success? This is Queen's grad studies.

Applying for funding is a tough, but necessary, part of the graduate school experience. Our Ph.D. students receive a guaranteed minimum funding package of $18,000 a year with many departments setting higher funding minimums and almost all offering much higher average funding packages. The majority of Master's students in research degree programs, also receive substantial funding support.

The great thing about Grad Studies is that you can continue down the course of study you loved in your undergrad, or you can find a stream that branches off in a different direction in many cases. Here's some ideas to think about. Browse our many accelerated programs and traditional masters, PhD and professional programs.

Queen’s researchers are changing the world. From sustaining the environment, to exploring human dimensions; to helping to create safe and successful societies - the researchers in Arts and Science are making an impact. And this doesn't mean just our world-renowned, award-winning professors, but our research staff, post-doctoral fellows, industry partners andmost importantly our students - both graduate students and undergraduate students.

Introduce Yourself

To Queen’s, you are more than just a number. You are more than an applicant reference number, and more than a student number - you are a superstar. You are ready to change the world. At Queen’s, we’re ready to help you do just that. If you’ve decided that Queen’s Grad Studies might just be for you - what are you waiting for?